Last week, Conan O'Brien introduced an animated clip from Taiwan that supposedly documented a fake fight Conan and Andy Richter were having in the office. Guess who watched it? The actual animators for Taiwan's NMA (Next Media Animation)!
They quickly responded with a humorous counterattack on Conan that accused him of being cheap, abusing child labor laws while also somehow being linked lasciviously to the late Michael Jackson, and threatened to take his blimp and put Richter in the Taipei Zoo. Other fun tidbits: It appears that they think President Barack Obama is head of TBS -- or a guest on the show whom Conan treats rudely -- and they forgot to add a beard on Conan.
Roll it!
Monday night's Conan acknowledges this funny feud. I'll update when their video becomes available.
In case you're not following season 22 of the FOX animated classic, The Simpsons, then you're not NYT reporter David Itzkoff (who's not only watching but taking screencaps!), so let's get you all caught up with the new kerfuffle.
Last week, the team took a crack at sister network FOX News in the scene following the opening credits, showing a FOX News helicopter with the tagline: "Not Racist, But #1 With Racists." See picture.
Of course it's a joke. FOX News doesn't have helicopters!
Of course, Bill O'Reilly cannot take any joke that is not coming out of his own blowhardy lips, so he called The Simpsons "pinheads."
Pinhead is an old-timey insult that only old people know (and only serves to remind viewers about his latest get-himself-richer quicker book).
So the producers over at The Simpsons -- who usually wait months between the writing, animating and airing of episodes, as opposed to the too-fast work by South Park's crew -- switched out the opening gag for a second FOX News chopper gag.
"FOX News: Unsuitable For Viewers Under 75"
Hahaha. Get it? It's funny because it's true. My maternal grandmother only started watching FOX News after she turned 75, and now she's dead. Spoiler alert: Also unsuitable for viewers older than 75! Thanks a lot, FOX News. You scared my grandmother to death.
Who knows what O'Reilly will have to say about this? Who cares? E.P. Al Jean told Itzkoff that it's all generated some publicity for the show, which means I hope Jean gets Itzkoff a nice holiday bonus this year. You're all caught up now. The end.
On Thanksgiving, you can be forgiven for not staying up late to watch TV, since you may have had other plans, or not even been at home. But that's no excuse not to catch up now. Conan O'Brien welcomed comedian Brendon Walsh to his TBS program for a stand-up set that proves you can say "penis" on late-night basic cable, and also that Walsh takes too much glee in making other people sad, if even just for a moment. Get a load of this turkey.
Over the past year, Bob Saget has hit the road with motorcycle clubs and gone into the woods with Bigfoot hunters. Strange days, indeed. No, indeed, Strange Days with Bob Saget. That's the title of his new series that debuts Nov. 30 on A&E. Here's the quick clip trailer:
Saget is in the middle of the big promotional push for the show, and after spending the morning calling in to several radio shows, he called me up.
"I was in Seattle recently to do a show, and I thought, geez, last time I was here I was literally in the woods."
How did you pick which groups to hook up with for the show?
"Our producers are really cool...Troy Searer, Carter Mays, here are guys whose names you cannot print. They're great producers. They know how to preproduce what I specifically wanted to do with this show. They'd go and meet the groups that we wanted to follow. They met these guys who are right on the web. BFRO is on the web. So they went out and met them. And these guys have done some TV before, so they're familiar with being on camera. And Bobo. And some of these guys. Moneymaker.
"What I love about the show is everybody has a different take on each episode. and everyone, call it casting is what it is, it's interesting. The first episode we ever did isn't even airing yet. We'll see what the ratings are. The first episode, we went to Ukraine and tried to get these guys mail-order brides. We did this a year ago when I was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. I did this joke on Conan the other night: 'The legal age of consent in Ukraine is yes.' They style we're doing isn't so much of a mocumentary. I call it cockumentary, is what i call it...but i dont think they want to spell it that way. I think it needs the hard k, it needs to be a capital K."
Maybe they feel like without the K people will pronounce it differently: Cocumentary.
"Right. That'd make it French. Cocumentary. When was the last time we talked?"
We spoke when you were in Broadway in "The Drowsy Chaperone," and now it seems like the hip thing for stand-up comedians to Broadway.
"Broadway is always the dream if you get the right part. When I started at Catch A Rising Star when I was 17 years old, Nathan Lane, Stack and Lane was a comedy duo. I remember watching him and liking him, what he does. This is a guy who clearly could have chosen a stand-up career.
"I joke that if this show does well, you'll see me on a bus. If the show doesn't do well, you'll see me on a bus."
What did you learn about how to adapt to these new subcultures and fit in quickly?
Congratulations to Auggie Smith, who not only celebrated a birthday over the holidays, but also added the 2010 Seattle comedy competition crown to his 2010 win earlier this year in the larger San Francisco contest.
Seattle's monthlong competition found itself forced to eliminate the first night of its final round last week when an arctic storm blew into the Puget Sound, but managed to get in four nights of stand-up, concluding last night. Smith (pictured at left after his win by Peter Greyy) is the first stand-up to finish with victories in both Seattle and San Francisco in the same year. David Crowe also has crowns in both, winning Seattle in 1995 and San Francisco in 1996.
Smith wins $5,000 and a record contract with Uproar.
Remember when Quincy Jones tried doing a 25th anniversary all-star remake of We Are The World but forgot to invite all the stars? Yeah, that sucked.
At least when Comedy Death-Ray assembled the alt-comedy-music crowd of Hollywood this holiday season to record their own version, they told us upfront that it'd suck, but that it'd also be funny. With an introduction by Kurt Russell, The Comedy Death-Ray Xmas Nativity Choir features Sarah Silverman, Kevin Nealon, Thomas Lennon, Laraine Newman, Garfunkel & Oates (Riki Lindhome and Kate Micucci), Doug Benson, Casey Wilson, Jen Kirkman, Paul Scheer, Scott Aukerman, Neil Hamburger, Matt Besser, Natasha Leggero, Duncan Trussell, Aimee Mann, Rich Sommer, Paul F. Tompkins, Maria Bamford, Nick Thune, Kurt Russell, Jimmy Pardo, Dana Gould, Tig Notaro, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Chris Hardwick, Mike Phirman, Gable Nealon, Matt Braunger, Drew Droege, Kumail Nanjiani, Randy & Jason Sklar, Brent Weinbach, Chris Fairbanks, Howard “Dragon Boy Suede” Kremer, Cracked Out (Brett Gelman and Jon Daly) and Brody Stevens.
Roll it already! It's safe for work until the final minute (Cracked Out!?!).
You can go to ComedyDeathRay.com to buy the full CD, with proceeds benefiting the L.A. Regional Food Bank. CDR's Ninth Annual XMAS Nativity Pageant will be held Dec. 14 at the UCB Theatre in Hollywood.
Want the rest of the track listing for the CD? Sure thing!
Leslie Nielsen, a Canadian-born actor who became known for his deadpan delivery and physical comedy only late in his career, died today from complications of pneumonia in a hospital near his home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He was 84.
Nielsen made his first TV appearance in 1948 alongside Charlton Heston, and for more than three decades took on a number of dramatic roles in TV and film, perhaps most notably in classics such as Forbidden Planet and The Poseidon Adventure. It was only when he was in his mid-50s that the comedy team of Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker tapped into Nielsen's line-reading abilities for comedy, casting him as Dr. Rumack in the 1980 hit, Airplane! They quickly followed that up by making Nielsen the lead in their TV spoof of cop shows, Police Squad, which did not make it through a full season on the small screen, but spawned multiple big-screen hits for Lt. Frank Drebin in a trilogy of The Naked Gun films.
Any number of quotable phrases leap to mind, but surely you're thinking of that one.
So far, there's not one definitive Leslie Nielsen compilation video of quotes and scenes up on the YouTube (or elsewhere), so for now, this shall suffice.
Hope everybody out there enjoyed their Thanksgiving! I know I did, and here's a bit of photographic evidence courtesy of Mindy Tucker, as we do our own take on a famous TV poster, er, I mean religious painting...
Top row: Me, Jill Anders, Sharon M. Spell, Corey Pandolph, Sean Crespo, Sean Canady; Bottom row: Kristen MacIntire Pandolph, Kelley Robertson Gorden, Rob Gorden, Carol Hartsell, Lizz Winstead, Joe Garden, Barry Lank, Dan Wilbur, Anita Serwacki and David Murrell
Click on it to make it bigger.
What you didn't see: This is a panaromic of shots by Tucker, in which we held our poses while she moved alongside the other side of the dinner table. Also, our hosts (Drink at Work's Sean Crespo and Carol Hartsell) decorated the area above the table with a leafy display -- only two things even give that away in the photo. And no, we didn't study "The Last Supper" image very long before providing our own interpretation thereof. Which explains my lack of accuracy. Otherwise great job, everybody! The Apiary called it the Ultimate NYC Thanksgiving Photo. Thanks!
For the second time going, Jimmy Pardo and his crew at the Never Not Funny podcast will be broadcasting a live 12-hour marathon, dubbed Pardcast-a-thon, with special celebrity guests, starting at 6 p.m. Pacific (9 p.m. Eastern, whatever time where you live tonight).
It raises money for Smile Train, a charitable organization that funds surgeries for children suffering from unrepaired cleft lips and palates. It's a good cause and a good time and even if you're not a comedy nerd, you're likely to see more than one famous face that everyone loves during the live-streaming broadcast.
Jerry Seinfeld is such a big guest now that he's not only the first guest on late-night TV, but also does his stand-up before panel as the first guest. Such was the case the other night this week on Late Show with David Letterman.
Seinfeld's set was a variation on a theme he has been performing in theaters for the past year or two, about how our views on what is "great" and what "sucks" is essentially the same. Also, what's the deal with 5-Hour Energy?
Afterward, Seinfeld sat down with Letterman, discussing a trip to the White House to perform for President Obama and Paul McCartney, as well as his involvement in Colin Quinn's new Broadway show, "Long Story Short."
Looking for a different kind of family recipe to survive your Thanksgiving? Just ask "Carol Ann," who shows you how to make her own kind of pumpkin pie, the kind only a drugged-out drug addict could love. Show us how it's done, Sue Galloway.
The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in NYC recently held auditions for its "Maude" sketch teams, and via mass email, let everyone know they'd decided to expand Maude nights on Mondays to include eight teams come January 2011.
Before you think this post is too NYC-centric, just remember this: the UCB's sketch teams already and continue to include writers and performers that you also can see wherever you have a TV on shows such as, oh, Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock, as well as plenty of commercial advertisements.
Here are the new rosters, with notations as described from the UCB's mass email. Also note that several new teams have been given "starter names" straight out of Scooby-Doo. Welcome members of Scooby, Shaggy, Fred, Daphne and Velma!
Dave Itzkoff of the New York Times caught this screen cap at the very very end of last night's Tonight Show with Jay Leno -- hey, look, it's musical guest Kevin Eubanks!
But there it is, if you didn't blink and miss it, the small print reads: "Last night's Taylor Swift montage provided by Rich Juzwiak of fourfour.typepad.com and Kate Spencer of thefablife.com"
Juzwiak told the NYT today that getting credit after the fact is a better outcome for him than had he gotten the mention upfront, saying: “It’s preferable just in the sense that it gets me more attention,” Juzwiak said. “A lot more people cared. I feel like a few people would have high-fived me on Twitter if they had seen this thing go down. This reached people who don’t care about Jay Leno whatsoever, who weren’t watching his show any way.”
The ECNY Awards are back for a seventh year, and this time around, the New York comedy community can have even more of a say in who gets honored for his/her/their work in 2010.
That's because the ECNYs have added four new categories: Best Podcast, Best Comedy Event (one-off special show), Best Storyteller, and Best New Category.
Best New Category? On the ECNY nomination form, open until Dec. 19, 2010, it says quite plainly: "Nominate Your Own Category...And Nominee." So for all of you comedians and comedy fans who think the ECNYs are overlooking part of the scene, this is your chance to fill in that blank.
Returning categories include: Best Female Stand-Up Comedian; Best Male Stand-Up Comedian; Best Sketch Comedy Group; Best Host; Best Improv Group; Best Musical Comedy Act (Solo or Group); Best One Person Show; Best Comedic Video (Short or Series); Best Variety Show; Best Website; Best Book; Best Technician; Best Flyer or Postcard Design; The Emerging Comic Award; Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Tweeting.
Awards will be handed out in March 2011 at the 92Y Tribeca. New venue!
So be thankful for what you've seen and heard this year, and nominate someone you love.
Congrats to Paul Scheer, who just received a 12-episode order from Adult Swim based just on his commercial that aired during another Cartoon Network/Adult Swim program, Childrens' Hospital. Deadline reports that Scheer is writing and executive producing the series, with Childrens' Hospital's Jon Stern also onboard as e.p.
On Twitter, Scheer described National Terrorism Strike Force: San Diego: Sport Utility Vehicle thusly: "It'll be like Michael Bay Fisting Tony Scott. Check it out!"
If you know or see someone in Los Angeles who needs some help this Thanksgiving, make sure you tell them that the Laugh Factory once again will open its doors to them with free food and comedy.
It's the 31st year Jamie Masada has hosted a free Thanksgiving event for the community, with comedians lending a hand handing out food, and also performing in between meals. Here's some video from a previous year's Turkey Day festivities.
Look, just because Facebook helped convince Lorne Michaels that Betty White could host Saturday Night Live in her 80s (with a little help from several former SNL ladies), that doesn't mean everybody else should be mounting a campaign to host the show.
Which is where Cookie Monster comes in. Cookie Monster? Cookie Monster. If you haven't already seen this video -- it has been bouncing around the Internet today -- I'm about to show it to you here. In this Muppet's audition tape, the blue "cookie enthusiast" tackles the major aspects of the show within four minutes, from opening credits to monologue, parody sketch, musical guest, bumpers and closing goodbyes.
Why do they need Facebook's help, though? The Muppets were on the very first episode of SNL and appeared throughout the first season and into the second, so you'd think someone over there still has Lorne's number.
That said, in all semi-seriousness, the video is clever and cute as most Muppet videos are, but I don't see Cookie Monster faring quite as well on the live broadcast. I do, think, however, that they could have a lot of fun inviting all of the Muppets back for a special episode when the new Muppets movie comes out next Christmas.
There's parallel thinking, and then there's the time a TV show asks you for permission to use your work, and then does so without credit. That's apparently what happened last night to VH1 bloggers Rich Juzwiak and Kate Spencer, no thanks to The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
In a post titled, "Jay Leno ripped me off" on his own popular personal blog, FourFour, Juzwiak recounts what happened.
And this is Jay Leno telling Taylor Swift last night what "we" "put together" for her:
After the show ended, and Juzwiak didn't see his or Spencer's name in the credits, he wrote:
What surprised me the most wasn't so much that Kate and I weren't mentioned, but that the video wasn't credited as having originated on the Internet. This is not an obscure work -- it's racked up over 200,000 views in a week! I thought at the very least, he'd give and indication of this thing's preexistence so that his viewers could hunt it down if they were so inclined. That was, apparently, expecting too much.
This post is to reclaim due credit -- that is one very tangible function of this blog that I appreciate very much. As with my NPR/cell-phone supercut feud, I am grateful that I don't have to stand by and watch when someone's going to be so rude as to swipe something I worked on just because it was made for the Internet. Newsflash to the mainstream media: just like you have actual human beings making you work, so does the Internet! A little respect for the people providing your content would be nice! I understand that ownership is a dubious concept these days, and that I'm claiming ownership of a series of clips that I never owned in the first place, but an idea is an idea. They're so hard to come by and so, so valuable.
I know how you feel, Rich. All of us plugging away on the Internet have got your back on this one.
And they are, in alphabetical order (and also pictured with contest guru Ron Reid in a different order)...
Drew Barth Billy Wayne Davis Dax Jordan Eddie Pence Auggie Smith
Joe List missed the finals by 21/100th of a point! I wonder how Seattle's contests always boil down to such close races, and yet, they always figure out a way to do it. The finals begin tonight in Seattle, with finalists performing 20-minute sets five times in the next six nights, and a new winner crowned on Sunday. Good luck, fellas.
Connected Comedy is an advertiser on The Comic's Comic that provides help for comedians and other comedy creators to get more exposure for themselves and their work. You can check out its ad on the sidebar, with a form to subscribe to its newsletter, on Twitter @ConnectComedy, or on Facebook.
Recent Comments